Chapter 351: Chapter 218: The Secret of the Celestial Secret

Chixue Sea Region, Cangyu Islands.

Within a Secret Hall concealed by a Shielding Array Restriction, Gu Binglong sat in the main seat, his brows tightly knitted and his expression cold. His dark Magical Robe emanated obscure fluctuations of Magical Power.

Also present were the heads of the You Family, the Qi Family, the Hong Family, and the Li Long Sect.

One could say that most of the Core Formation powers in the Chixue Sea Region had come. Only the Longevity Hall and three other families were nowhere to be seen.

Gu Binglong glanced around the room, his voice low. "It seems the Longevity Hall is dead set on tying its fate to the Ling Family of Changqing Continent.

"As for Yaowang Mountain, Baihua Valley, and Haiqing Sect, those three have yet to state their position. I suppose they intend to remain neutral and observe?

"I just wonder how those powers plan to save themselves when the Ling Family’s army of Cultivators is at the gates of the Chixue Sea Region?"

He was right. This secret meeting had been initiated by Gu Binglong, and its target was the Ling Family, which now controlled the Feiyu Sea Region.

The Cangyu Islands’ strength alone was no longer enough to suppress the current Longevity Hall, let alone the Ling Family behind them.

If they didn’t find a way to change the situation, in a few years, not only would the Cangyu Islands be devoured by the Longevity Hall, but the entire Chixue Sea Region... would likely become the Ling Family’s spoils of war.

Therefore, Gu Binglong, who considered himself a man of foresight, had sent invitations to the upper echelons of the nine remaining Core Formation powers, inviting them to strategize together.

In the end, six powers, including the Nu Tao Sect, gave the Cangyu Islands face and sent important figures to attend the meeting.

The Longevity Hall and the Cangyu Islands had always been at odds, so naturally, they ignored the invitation. As for Yaowang Mountain and the other two powers, their limited strength led them to their usual practice of sitting on the fence.

The hall fell silent for a moment before Nu Tao Sect’s Sect Leader, Su Jianhu, mused aloud,

"That Female Patriarch of the Ling Family doesn’t seem to be the warlike type. Our families have no friendship with her, but no feud either. Is it really necessary to be so wary of them?"

In the past, Elders from the Nu Tao Sect had approached the Ling Family more than once to commission the refining of various Third Grade Elixirs, and they had never been refused.

The Nu Tao Sect would certainly need to ask favors of the Ling Family again in the future, which was why Su Jianhu was hesitant. ’If this sours our relationship with the Ling Family, where will we find a relatively cheap supply of Third Grade Elixirs?’

The Patriarch of the Qi Family, Qi Songshou, was an old man in black robes with high cheekbones, a hooked nose, and a grim, severe face. He studied everyone’s expressions before speaking slowly,

"Forty or fifty years ago, the Ling Family was just a minor Foundation Establishment Clan. Now, they are the masters of the Feiyu Sea Region. This shows that their fortune and Destiny are by no means trivial!

"If another fifty years pass, to what extent will they have grown? Will our powers in the Chixue Sea Region still be able to contend with them?"

The history of the Ling Family’s rise was no secret; any neighboring power that paid attention to them knew it well.

The Patriarch of the Feng Family, Feng Wuxin, remained silent. His thoughts were similar to Su Jianhu’s, and because his own family was more powerful, he wasn’t particularly concerned with Gu Binglong’s point of view.

’Although the Ling Family of Changqing Continent controls the entire Feiyu Sea Region, their number of publicly known Core Formation Cultivators can’t compare to the Feng Family’s. It’s unlikely they can even approach our level in the next few decades, so they’re hardly a cause for concern.’

’Golden Core Masters aren’t cabbages you can grow in a field; you can’t just cultivate them casually. Even becoming a True Pill Cultivator is no easy feat.’

Gu Binglong frowned and quickly interjected, "Sect Master Su, there’s something you don’t know. The Ling Family has two Third Rank Alchemists. This means they can acquire more development resources with relative ease, allowing them to accelerate the training of their own disciples.

"Perhaps in thirty to fifty years, the younger generation of our families will all be surpassed by theirs. That is not good news!"

To a Golden Core Master, several decades was not a long time at all; it could pass in just a few sessions of Cultivation in Seclusion.

Gu Binglong’s uncle, Elder Gu Changhe, said in a grave voice,

"Fellow Daoists, I know that you have no prior enmity with the Ling Family, and some of you might even have a decent relationship with them. But when the legacy of your own foundations is at stake, you cannot let sentiment cloud your judgment!

"The Ling Family was able to defeat so many opponents and unify the entire Feiyu Sea Region. That proves they are no harmless, gentle saints!

"In the future, if they get the chance, who’s to say they won’t become insatiably greedy and start coveting the territory and resources of our Chixue Sea Region?"

As soon as he said this, the hall fell silent.

The Cultivation Realm was an era of great conflict. Such matters of flashing blades, shattered families, and annihilated sects were commonplace, occurring every day across the continent.

The growth and expansion of any power was inseparable from territory and resources.

If one day in the future, the Ling Family’s upper echelon decided they needed vaster territory and richer resources to ensure their own development, it was inevitable that they would raise the butcher’s knife against the powers, large and small, in the surrounding sea regions.

When the future and fate of one’s own foundation were on the line, no amount of goodwill or past friendship mattered.

"Fellow Daoist Gu, what is your proposal?"

After a long silence, a handsome, elegant middle-aged man in a vermilion and purple robe finally spoke in a leisurely tone.

This was Xu Tianxiong, the Sect Leader of the Li Long Sect. The number of Core Formation Cultivators within his Sect was even greater than the Feng Family’s, making it the strongest lineage in the Chixue Sea Region.

The Li Long Sect occupied the best piece of territory within the Chixue Sea Region. Its main headquarters was on Li Long Continent, an area more than twice the size of Changqing Continent, and it possessed two complete Grade Four Spirit Veins.

Although the Li Long Sect had yet to produce a Nascent Soul True Monarch, it had two Supreme Elders on the verge of a breakthrough, and Xu Tianxiong himself was not far from that threshold.